Leg Control System and Engineering Machine

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a leg control system, comprising a command transmitting unit, a leg controller and electromagnetic valves for controlling actions of legs, wherein the command transmitting unit is used for transmitting a leg control command; the leg controller simultaneously transmits an action instruction to the electromagnetic valves corresponding to a plurality of legs according to the received leg control command from the command transmitting unit; and the electromagnetic valves are reversed according to the control instruction so as to control the actions of the plurality of legs. Correspondingly, the invention further provides an engineering machine. According to the technical solutions of the invention, the plurality of legs can be controlled simultaneously, and problems of uneven stress and the like when a single leg is controlled are solved.

This application claims the priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201210370775.9, filed Sep. 28, 2012, entitled “LEG CONTROL SYSTEM ANDENGINEERING MACHINE”, the disclosures for which are hereby incorporatedherein in their entireties by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of leg control technology, andparticularly to a leg control system and an engineering machine providedwith the leg control system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present, legs of an engineering machine mostly adopt the followingseveral structural forms: rear swing legs, X legs, front swing legs,folding legs, arc-shaped legs and the like. When the legs are unfolded,multi-way valve rockers of the legs need to be manually operated, tocontrol a plurality of legs to be unfolded and landed, so as to form asquare or a trapezoid for supporting the weight of the engineeringmachine to prevent overturning. However, when the legs are unfolded byadopting a relevant technology, each leg only can be controlledindividually, so that when the actions of the legs are operated, twosides of the engineering machine can not be simultaneously supported,which easily causes incline of the engineering machine and uneven stresson the legs, and even results in overturning of the engineering machine.

Therefore, a new leg control technology is needed for solving theproblems that uneven stress possibly appears when a single leg iscontrolled and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aiming at the above-mentioned problems, the invention provides a novelleg control system and an engineering machine, which can realizesynchronous control of a plurality of legs and solve the problems ofuneven stress and the like when legs are controlled individually.

In view of this, the invention provides a leg control system, comprisinga command transmitting unit, a leg controller and electromagnetic valvesfor controlling the actions of legs, wherein the command transmittingunit is used for transmitting a leg control command; the leg controllersimultaneously transmits an action instruction to the electromagneticvalves corresponding to a plurality of legs according to the receivedleg control command from the command transmitting unit; and theelectromagnetic valves are reversed according to the action instructionto control the actions of the legs.

In this technical solution, the plurality of legs are simultaneouslycontrolled, so that on the one hand, the working efficiency can beimproved, and on the other hand, the plurality of legs can besimultaneously in contact with the ground to support an engineeringmachine, the stress is more even, and inclination and even overturn ofthe engineering machine after a single leg lands are avoided.

In the above-mentioned technical solution, preferably, theelectromagnetic valves comprise unfolding and folding electromagneticvalves arranged on unfolding and folding loops of the legs and/orascending and descending electromagnetic valves arranged on ascendingand descending loops of the legs; the leg control command comprises anunfolding and folding control command and/or an ascending and descendingcontrol command, and the leg controller transmits a correspondingunfolding and folding instruction to the unfolding and foldingelectromagnetic valves when receiving the unfolding and folding controlcommand and transmits a corresponding ascending and descendinginstruction to the ascending and descending electromagnetic valves whenreceiving the ascending and descending control command.

In this technical solution, the operation of each leg comprises twoparts, namely as for one part, the leg extends from an initial positionsuch as the back of the engineering machine and is laid down right abovea target position, and as for the other part, the other section extendsdownwards from the end of each leg and is in contact with the ground torealize supporting. The actions of the two parts may be controlledrespectively or simultaneously, so that the construction time isreduced.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, preferably, theelectromagnetic valves are proportional electromagnetic valves; the legcontrol command includes a leg moving speed for adjusting thedisplacement of the valve core of each proportional electromagneticvalve; and the leg controller adjusts the displacement of the valve coreof each proportional electromagnetic valve according to the leg movingspeed to control the moving speed of each leg.

In this technical solution, the proportional electromagnetic valves areadopted, so that the positions of the valve cores may be controlled, andthen the moving speeds of the legs can be controlled to adapt todifferent working conditions.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, preferably, thecommand transmitting unit is a remote control device, which is connectedwith the leg controller in a wired or wireless manner.

In this technical solution, the wired connection manner adopted isfavorable for improving the stability of signal transmission; and thewireless connection manner adopted is favorable for further getting awayfrom the engineering machine and avoiding the limitation of lengths ofcables and the like, so that operators are prevented from being hit inthe moving process of the legs, and the operational safety is improved.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, preferably, theremote control device is provided with a command receiving device, whichgenerates the leg control command after sensing a preset operationaction.

In this technical solution, the command receiving device herein may beone or more of multiple forms such as a physical key, an operating rod,a voice receiving and identification device, an image acquisition andidentification device, a touch screen and a keyboard, for facilitatinginputting the command of a user.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, preferably, thecommand receiving device comprises a plurality of buttons, and eachbutton corresponds to a plurality of legs; when the operation actionspecific to a specified button is sensed, a corresponding leg controlcommand is generated; and the leg control command includes leginformation, the leg controller determines the correspondingelectromagnetic valve according to the leg information, so as to controlthe plurality of legs corresponding to the specified button.

In this technical solution, a plurality of buttons are arranged on theremote control device, a corresponding function is preset for eachbutton, e.g. a certain button corresponds to unfolding of the two leftlegs of the engineering machine, and after the user presses down thebutton, the two left legs would be unfolded. By identifying thetransmitted leg control command, different functional buttons aredistinguished, and accurate control of the corresponding legs isguaranteed.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, preferably, thecommand receiving device comprises two buttons, each of whichcorresponds to a plurality of legs on the same side.

In this technical solution, according to different positions of theinstalled legs, the legs are divided into two groups, so as to adapt todifferent working conditions. In any of the above-mentioned technicalsolutions, preferably, when a plurality of buttons simultaneously sensean operation action, a leg control command for all of the legs isgenerated.

In this technical solution, each button may respectively control aplurality of legs, e.g. the legs on a certain side, and when a pluralityof buttons simultaneously performs operation, all of the legs can becontrolled, so that synchronous operation is realized.

According to another aspect of the invention, an engineering machine isfurther provided, comprising the leg control system in any of theabove-mentioned technical solutions.

In the above-mentioned technical solution, preferably, the engineeringmachine comprises a boom device and a plurality of legs, wherein thecommand transmitting unit is a boom remote controller, and the boomremote controller is provided with a switching device; when theswitching device is at a first state position, the boom remotecontroller transmits a boom control command to the boom device accordingto the sensed operation action; and when the switching device is at asecond state position, the boom remote controller transmits a legcontrol command to a plurality of corresponding legs according to thesensed operation action.

In this technical solution, a boom or the legs can be controlled on thesame remote control device, so that a plurality of functions can beintegrated, multiple functions can be multiplexed on the basis of nochange of the existing device, and the design and development cost issaved.

Through the above technical solutions, the plurality of legs may besimultaneously controlled, so that situations of possible uneven stressand the like when a single leg is controlled are avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a leg control systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side schematic diagram of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a remote control device according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of signal transmission according to anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

To understand the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages ofthe invention more clearly, the invention will be further described indetail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferredembodiments. It should be noted that, the embodiments of thisapplication and features in the embodiments can be combined with eachother without conflicts.

Each embodiment of the invention will be illustrated below inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Refer to FIG. 1, which shows a leg control system according to anembodiment of the invention. The leg control system comprises a commandtransmitting unit, a leg controller and electromagnetic valves forcontrolling the actions of legs, wherein the command transmitting unitis connected with the leg controller and configured to transmit a legcontrol command to the leg controller; the leg controller is connectedwith the electromagnetic valves and configured to transmit an actioninstruction according to the received leg control command; and theelectromagnetic valves are connected with the controlled legs and areconfigured to be reversed according to the action instruction tosynchronously control the actions of the legs.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the leg control system according to theembodiment of the invention comprises a command transmitting unit 1, aleg controller 2 and electromagnetic valves 3 for controlling theactions of legs 4, wherein the command transmitting unit 1 is used fortransmitting a leg control command; the leg controller 2 simultaneouslytransmits an action instruction to the electromagnetic valves 3corresponding to a plurality of legs 4 according to the received legcontrol command from the command transmitting unit 1; and theelectromagnetic valves 3 are reversed according to the actioninstruction to control synchronous actions of the plurality of legs 4.

In this technical solution, the plurality of legs 4 are simultaneouslycontrolled, so that on the one hand, the working efficiency can beimproved, and on the other hand, the plurality of legs 4 can besimultaneously in contact with the ground to support an engineeringmachine, the stress is more even, and inclination and even overturn ofthe engineering machine after a single leg 4 lands are avoided.

It should be noted that, in each above-mentioned embodiment, the legcontrol command comprises an unfolding and folding control commandand/or an ascending and descending control command; and incorrespondence to the leg control command, the action instructioncomprises an unfolding and folding instruction and/or an ascending anddescending instruction.

For example, in the above-mentioned technical solution, theelectromagnetic valves 3 comprise unfolding and folding electromagneticvalves arranged on unfolding and folding loops of the legs 4 and/orascending and descending electromagnetic valves arranged on ascendingand descending loops of the legs; the leg control command comprises anunfolding and folding control command and/or an ascending and descendingcontrol command, and the leg controller 2 transmits the correspondingunfolding and folding instruction to the unfolding and foldingelectromagnetic valves when receiving the unfolding and folding controlcommand and transmits the corresponding ascending and descendinginstruction to the ascending and descending electromagnetic valves whenreceiving the ascending and descending control command.

In this technical solution, the operation of each leg 4 comprises twoparts, namely as for one part, the leg 4 extends from an initialposition such as the back of the engineering machine and is laid downright above a target position, and as for the other part, the othersection extends downwards from the end of each leg 4 and is in contactwith the ground to realize supporting. In this embodiment, the actionsof the two parts may be controlled respectively or simultaneously, sothat the construction time is reduced.

The action process of the legs 4 will be illustrated below inconjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 is an overlook schematic diagram of a structure of an engineeringmachine, and the legs 4 in the figure comprise a first leg 41, a secondleg 42, a third leg 43 and a fourth leg 44. In a relevant technology,only the action of each leg can be controlled individually. Further,each leg 4 corresponds to at least two control handles, e.g. the twocontrol handles comprise an unfolding and folding handle and anascending and descending handle for the leg 4.

If the control manner in the relevant technology is adopted, then eachleg can not simultaneously complete the indicated action. For example,by taking the four legs in FIG. 1 as an example herein, the first leg41, the second leg 42 and the fourth leg have completed the unfoldingaction, whereas the third leg 43 is still in an initial retracted state;as shown in FIG. 2, each leg 4 comprises a horizontal part 4 a and avertical part 4 b, wherein on the one hand, the horizontal part 4 aneeds to move in the horizontal direction to complete the unfoldingaction, and on the other hand, the vertical part 4 b which is originallyretracted in the horizontal part 4 a extends in the vertical directiontill landing is realized.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, the electromagneticvalves 3 are proportional electromagnetic valves, wherein the legcontrol command includes a leg moving speed for adjusting thedisplacement of a valve core of each proportional electromagnetic valve.For example, the leg controller 2 adjusts the displacement of the valvecore of each proportional electromagnetic valve according to the legmoving speed to control the moving speed of each leg 4.

In this technical solution, the proportional electromagnetic valves areadopted, so that the positions of the valve cores can be controlled, andthen the moving speeds of the legs 4 can be controlled to adapt todifferent working conditions.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, the commandtransmitting unit 1 may comprise a command receiving device and acommand transmitting device, wherein the command receiving devicereceives an action indication input from the outside and generates theleg control command according to the action indication, and the commandtransmitting device transmits the generated leg control command to acontrol target, e.g. the leg controller. In this embodiment, the actionindication may be generated under the trigger of a preset operationaction.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the command transmittingunit 1 may be a remote control device, and the remote control device isconnected with the leg controller 2 in a wired or wireless manner. Forexample, the command transmitting unit comprises a remote control deviceand a remote control receiver, wherein the remote control device may beconnected with the remote control receiver in a wired or wirelessmanner, and the remote control receiver may be connected with the legcontroller in a wired or wireless manner.

It should be noted that, in this technical solution, the wiredconnection manner adopted is favorable for improving the stability ofsignal transmission; and the wireless connection manner adopted isfavorable for further getting away from the engineering machine andavoiding the limitation of lengths of cables and the like, so thatoperators are prevented from being hit in the moving process of the legs4, and the operational safety is improved.

Further, the remote control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with acommand receiving device, and the command receiving device is configuredto generate the leg control command according to the received actionindication. For example, the command receiving device senses the actionindication, and generates the leg control command according to theaction indication. In this embodiment, the action indication may be apreset operation action.

For example, in this technical solution, the command receiving deviceherein may be one or more of multiple forms such as a physical key, anoperating rod, a voice receiving and identification device, an imageacquisition and identification device, a touch screen and a keyboard,for facilitating command input of a user.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the command receiving devicecomprises action indication input devices, and each action indicationinput device corresponds to at least two legs and is configured togenerate the corresponding leg control command according to the inputaction indication, wherein the leg control command includes leginformation for determining the electromagnetic valves corresponding tothe controlled legs.

For example, buttons arranged on the command receiving device may beused as the action indication input devices herein. In any of theabove-mentioned technical solutions, the command receiving devicecomprises a plurality of buttons 102, and each button 102 corresponds toa plurality of legs; when the operation action specific to a specifiedbutton 102 is sensed, a corresponding leg control command is generated;and the leg control command includes leg information, the leg controller2 determines the corresponding electromagnetic valves 3 according to theleg information, to control the plurality of legs 4 corresponding to thespecified button 102.

In this technical solution, a plurality of buttons 102 are arranged onthe remote control device 10, a corresponding function is preset foreach button 102, e.g. a certain button 102 corresponds to unfolding ofthe third leg 43 and the fourth leg 44 of the engineering machine shownin FIG. 1, and after the user presses down the button 102, the two legsare unfolded. By identifying the transmitted leg control command,different functional buttons are distinguished, and accurate control ofthe corresponding legs 4 is ensured.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the command receivingdevice comprises two action indication input devices, and the actionindication input devices correspond to the legs on the same side.

For example, by taking buttons serving as the action indication inputdevices as an example herein, in any of the above-mentioned technicalsolutions, the command receiving device comprises two buttons, and eachbutton corresponds to a plurality of legs 4 on the same side.

In this technical solution, according to different positions of theinstalled legs 4, the legs 4 are divided into two groups, to adapt todifferent working conditions.

In any of the above-mentioned technical solutions, when a plurality ofbuttons 102 simultaneously sense an operation action, a leg controlcommand for all the legs 4 is generated.

In this technical solution, each button 102 may respectively control aplurality of legs 4, e.g. the legs 4 on a certain side, and when aplurality of buttons 102 simultaneously performs operation, all the legs4 may be controlled, so that synchronous operation is realized.

According to another aspect of the invention, an engineering machine isfurther provided, comprising the leg control system in any of theabove-mentioned technical solutions.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the engineering machine comprises aboom device and a plurality of legs, wherein the command transmittingunit is connected with the boom device and provided with a switchingdevice for performing switching control between the boom device and theleg controller.

For example, the engineering machine comprises a boom device and aplurality of legs, e.g. two legs, three legs, four legs and the like;the command transmitting unit is a boom remote controller, and the boomremote controller is provided with the above-mentioned functionalbuttons 102 and may be further provided with a switching device 104shown in FIG. 3; when the switching device 104 is at a first stateposition, the boom remote controller transmits a boom control command tothe boom device according to the sensed operation action; and when theswitching device 104 is at a second state position, the boom remotecontroller transmits a leg control command to a plurality ofcorresponding legs 4 according to the sensed operation action.

In this technical solution, a boom or the legs 4 can be controlled onthe same remote control device 10, so that a plurality of functions canbe integrated, multiple functions can be multiplexed on the basis of nochange of the existing device, and the design and development cost issaved.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the legs are controlled, the signaltransmission process is as follows.

A user controls the legs 4 on the engineering machine through the remotecontrol device 10, wherein the remote control device 10 is wirelesslyconnected with the engineering machine. The remote control device 10transmits a remote control signal to the remote control receiver 20arranged on the engineering machine, and further, the remote controlsignal herein may be an infrared signal, a Bluetooth signal, a wirelesslocal area network signal and the like.

The remote control receiver 20 forwards the received remote controlsignal to the leg controller 2, the remote control signal includes a legcontrol command, and the leg controller 2 analyzes the leg controlcommand and judges the objects to be controlled and the operationmanner, e.g. the two legs 4 on the left side need to be simultaneouslyunfolded.

The action of each leg is controlled through an electromagnetic valve 3,the leg controller 2 is connected to all the electromagnetic valves 3,and when the remote control signal is received, the corresponding actioninstruction is generated and transmitted to the electromagnetic valves 3corresponding to the legs 4 needing to be controlled.

Further, the electromagnetic valves 3 herein may be proportionalelectromagnetic valves, the remote control signal transmitted by theremote control device 10 may include a speed signal, then the actioninstruction transmitted by the leg controller 2 may also include thecorresponding speed instruction, the opening degrees of the valves arecontrolled by adjusting the displacements of the valve cores of theproportional electromagnetic valves, and the action speeds of the legs 4are finally controlled.

In conclusion, in the technical solutions of the invention, since awireless remote control manner is adopted, the legs would not hitoperators during acting, and the operational safety is improved;meanwhile, through synchronous control of the plurality of legs, theworking efficiency can be improved, and the engineering machine isprevented from unbalancing and even overturning accidents caused bysupporting of single legs.

The foregoing descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of theinvention, rather than limiting the invention, and for those skilled inthe art, various alterations and changes may be made to the invention.Any modification, equivalent substitution, improvement and the like madewithin the spirit and principle of the invention should be encompassedin the protection scope of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The leg control system and the engineering machine provided with the legcontrol system provided by the invention can synchronously control aplurality of legs, so as to improve the working efficiency and preventthe engineering machine from unbalancing and even overturning caused bysupporting of single legs. Moreover, since a wireless remote controlmanner is adopted, the legs would not hit operators during acting, andthe operational safety is improved. Therefore, the invention hasindustrial applicability.

1. A leg control system, comprising a command transmitting unit, a legcontroller and electromagnetic valves for controlling the actions oflegs, wherein the command transmitting unit is connected with the legcontroller and configured to transmit a leg control command to the legcontroller; the leg controller is connected with the electromagneticvalves and configured to transmit an action instruction according to thereceived leg control command; and the electromagnetic valves areconnected with the controlled legs and reversed according to the actioninstruction to synchronously control the actions of the legs.
 2. The legcontrol system according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic valvescomprise unfolding and folding electromagnetic valves arranged onunfolding and folding loops of the legs and/or ascending and descendingelectromagnetic valves arranged on ascending and descending loops of thelegs; wherein the leg control command comprises an unfolding and foldingcontrol command and/or an ascending and descending control command, andcorrespondingly, the action instruction comprises an unfolding andfolding instruction and/or an ascending and descending instruction. 3.The leg control system according to claim 2, wherein the electromagneticvalves are proportional electromagnetic valves; wherein the leg controlcommand includes a leg moving speed for adjusting the displacement ofthe valve core of each proportional electromagnetic valve.
 4. The legcontrol system according to claim 1, wherein the command transmittingunit comprises a remote control device and a remote control receiver,the remote control device is connected with the remote control receiverin a wired or wireless manner, and the remote control receiver isconnected with the leg controller in a wired or wireless manner.
 5. Theleg control system according to claim 4, wherein the remote controldevice is provided with a command receiving device, and the commandreceiving device is configured to generate the leg control commandaccording to the received action indication.
 6. The leg control systemaccording to claim 5, wherein the command receiving device comprisesaction indication input devices, and each action indication input devicecorresponds to at least two legs and is configured to generate thecorresponding leg control command according to the input actionindication; wherein the leg control command includes leg information fordetermining the electromagnetic valves corresponding to the controlledlegs.
 7. The leg control system according to claim 6, wherein thecommand receiving device comprises two action indication input devices,and the action indication input devices correspond to the legs on thesame side.
 8. An engineering machine, comprising the leg control systemaccording to claim
 1. 9. The engineering machine according to claim 8,comprising a boom device and a plurality of legs; wherein the commandtransmitting unit is connected with the boom device and provided with aswitching device for performing switching control between the boomdevice and the legs.
 10. The engineering machine according to claim 9,wherein the command transmitting unit is a boom remote controller, andthe boom remote controller is provided with the switching device; whenthe switching device is at a first state position, the boom remotecontroller transmits a boom control command to the boom device accordingto the sensed operation action; and when the switching device is at asecond state position, the boom remote controller transmits the legcontrol command to a plurality of corresponding legs according to thesensed operation action.
 11. The leg control system according to claim2, wherein the command transmitting unit comprises a remote controldevice and a remote control receiver, the remote control device isconnected with the remote control receiver in a wired or wirelessmanner, and the remote control receiver is connected with the legcontroller in a wired or wireless manner.
 12. The leg control systemaccording to claim 11, wherein the remote control device is providedwith a command receiving device, and the command receiving device isconfigured to generate the leg control command according to the receivedaction indication.
 13. The leg control system according to claim 12,wherein the command receiving device comprises action indication inputdevices, and each action indication input device corresponds to at leasttwo legs and is configured to generate the corresponding leg controlcommand according to the input action indication; wherein the legcontrol command includes leg information for determining theelectromagnetic valves corresponding to the controlled legs.
 14. The legcontrol system according to claim 13, wherein the command receivingdevice comprises two action indication input devices, and the actionindication input devices correspond to the legs on the same side. 15.The leg control system according to claim 3, wherein the commandtransmitting unit comprises a remote control device and a remote controlreceiver, the remote control device is connected with the remote controlreceiver in a wired or wireless manner, and the remote control receiveris connected with the leg controller in a wired or wireless manner. 16.The leg control system according to claim 15, wherein the remote controldevice is provided with a command receiving device, and the commandreceiving device is configured to generate the leg control commandaccording to the received action indication.
 17. The leg control systemaccording to claim 16, wherein the command receiving device comprisesaction indication input devices, and each action indication input devicecorresponds to at least two legs and is configured to generate thecorresponding leg control command according to the input actionindication; wherein the leg control command includes leg information fordetermining the electromagnetic valves corresponding to the controlledlegs.
 18. An engineering machine, comprising the leg control systemaccording to claim
 2. 19. The engineering machine according to claim 18,comprising a boom device and a plurality of legs; wherein the commandtransmitting unit is connected with the boom device and provided with aswitching device for performing switching control between the boomdevice and the legs.
 20. The engineering machine according to claim 19,wherein the command transmitting unit is a boom remote controller, andthe boom remote controller is provided with the switching device; whenthe switching device is at a first state position, the boom remotecontroller transmits a boom control command to the boom device accordingto the sensed operation action; and when the switching device is at asecond state position, the boom remote controller transmits the legcontrol command to a plurality of corresponding legs according to thesensed operation action.